Like a Dream
by Mara93
Summary: Nathan Haley 7.06 Scene Extender: Similes and Metaphors? Nathan and Haley incorporate romance, humor and poetry. Also, dreams of their high school days before their Always and Forever began.


_**Like A Dream**_

Season 7 scene extender for Episode: _Deep Ocean Vast Sea_/plus season one extended part, in dreams

Season 7 spoilers for this episode so if you haven't seen it yet, please be warned.

Thanks again for your support for my stories here at FF.

Disclaimer: OTH and its characters are the property of Mark Schwahn and company etc…

Mild T Rating: mild language

Note: I'm assuming the second tutoring session for Nathan and Haley was at the dock, but I don't know for sure. I know after a while she started tutoring him at his house too. So, if I'm wrong, please excuse my mistake.

**~{~}~**

She was dreaming. It was high school and they were young with hardly any cares again. Except this.

_**He was so bad at this. No other way to put it. Not even for a tutor who believed she was pretty good at what she did. At getting students to learn. He just was ultra challenge number one.**_

_**"Okay, so a smile is this thing, right?" He pointed with little care or observance. He'd rather keep watching how she pulled her cinnamon hair back, displaying on her wrist that tacky Cracker Jack box bracelet he gave her the last time they did this. Or maybe he'd rather walk past here and go throw the ball around. Yeah, he was easily distracted. Sue him. Most his teachers wanted to. It helped though at least that tutor girl Haley was kind of a hot little tutor, nothing as uninteresting as those old cronies at school.**_

_**Haley shook her head with frustration. It was their second tutoring session and though he was very smart, he also just wasn't getting it. She guessed it could have to do with how his mind wandered every couple of minutes that he didn't like what she was teaching. Or maybe it was that he seemed in a hurry to have the session end because in about a half hour he was getting together with his girlfriend and buds as he kept reminding her. Then again, maybe she just didn't do enough to hold his interest since she wasn't one of those hot short skirt wearing cheerleaders. Who knew? What did it matter? Trying to teach him parts of poetry was like pulling teeth. Hah, should teach him that one next.**_

_**Nathan watched how she lowered her head into the book with so much interest. What the heck, he wondered, did she find so fascinating about it? The book sucked. And besides, he only really cared about one thing lately. His game and his court. His stupid half brother kept trying to take it from him. That was why he went to Haley James to get tutored. Okay, so sure, she had all those surprisingly tight little curves, and she had that cinnamon shining hair. Haley James was no little wallflower, but when she sat down to tutor him, with all her hard edge and smarts, sometimes it just made him feel…**_

_**Well whatever. Better to act bored and like he didn't care. Maybe she'd never find out then.**_

_**Gritting her teeth with a bit of frustration that was rare for her since she did well with being patient, Haley pushed the book towards him again. "Let's backtrack. Look, this is a simile. Why?"**_

_**Nathan shrugged with little care. It was kind of stupid he supposed. He was the one that sought out a tutor, but hey, that was to get back at his brother and-**_

_**"Nathan!"**_

_**And he thought she would be easy to fool. Hah. "Uh, because it's dumb and simple."**_

_**Haley started to get up from the table. Nathan pressed down on her arm firmly. She didn't seem to like that answer. Recalling what she had said to him just five minutes before, he put his mind more to the task. "No, I was just smart-assing, okay? It's because…uh…it uses the word 'like', right?"**_

_**She sat back down all the way. His hand was still warm over her arm. She looked down at it, watching him take it away slowly. "Right. You were listening."**_

_**Nathan smirked dryly. "Yeah, well, sometimes it works, plus you looked really pissed and I was afraid you might hit me over the head with my English book. The thing is heavy as a rock to carry so I don't want to know how it would feel."**_

_**Haley grinned.**_

_**Nathan stared with confusion, not sure what she was so happy about. At least she didn't get all frustrated with him though. Or if she did, she was good at not showing it. He was used to being told that he was too hard to teach and…other things.**_

_**She clarified with a tutor's excitement and expertise. "Exactly, do you know what you just did?"**_

_**Nathan's forehead creased with soberness. "No, but uh…guess it was good?"**_

_**Haley continued to smile and reminded him of his words. "You compared your English book to a rock, Nathan. Using the word, as, you made a simile, comparing two things that are not alike. Your book is as heavy as a rock…"**_

_**She looked at him with encouragement.**_

_**Nathan continued the thought with more enthusiasm. "Basically because it's so heavy, it feels like a rock. That's a simile?"**_

_**Haley nodded her head. "Yes. The comparison is." She got up off the bench with his book. Nathan watched her with questioning. Haley gestured. "Come here…I found some."**_

_**"What?" **_

_**She turned around and touched his hand with hers. As they made contact she realized just how much bigger it was than hers.**_

_**Nathan looked down at her curiously.**_

_**Haley shook off her partial daze and gestured more, letting go of his hand. "Just come with me. I'll show you."**_

_**She seemed kind of excited now and kind of cute at that, so he shrugged why not. He moved forward with her away from the park-dock's benches and table, to closer by the water. Haley sat down on the edge of the river and picked up a big one, not realizing it was a bit heavier than she thought it would be. She laughed with embarrassment.**_

_**Nathan moved out of his half boredom state and grabbed at the other side of it. "Whoa, now you're going to hit me with a real rock?"**_

_**Haley rolled her eyes and touched at it. "No, I just believe in tangible manipulatives sometimes, you know? Here's your book. And here's a rock. Now just looking at them, tell me what they have in common."**_

_**He responded dryly. "They both could give me a concussion if you decide to hit me with them, which by the way would mean we'd lose the game because the team's nothing without me."**_

_**Haley actually laughed dryly before she hit at Nathan's arm. "Oh, your humor, bet it's a real turn on."**_

_**He smirked casually. "Actually it is."**_

_**Feeling him moving in much closer to her, Haley backed away some with a touch of nervousness. He sometimes offset her with just how bold he was. "Uh, yeah, anyway, better comparisons. Come on."**_

_**He had to smile. Haley was smart and totally confident when she was teaching, but if he made any kind of move, which yeah he had made some subtle ones. COME ON, he was Nathan Scott. She would back away or start to ramble like she did just now. He supposed it should make her look like a weirdo, but actually it was kind of a turn-on. With added interest, he gave her a stronger reason for his comparison. He wasn't sure how she did it, but sometimes she made him really want to use his mind, not just fake it like with everyone else. "Well they don't really have that much in common at all. I mean, you're supposed to read a book. You don't read a rock."**_

_**Haley brought up her finger with strong point. "Unless it's a rune."**_

_**"Huh?"**_

_**Haley shook her head with wryness before she explained. " Well actually runes were the Ancient Germanic Alphabet used for writing, divination etc…and uh…the patterns and wording was found on many rocks from back in ancient times, and well there are also of course the Egyptians who used hieroglyphics on walls to…why are you looking at me like that?"**_

_**This was when she made him want to burst out laughing. She would start explaining something in what she had taught him before were run-on sentences. Yet she would go on and on like the Energizer bunny or something, using a full mega load one. It was even kind of hot when she did it because whether she knew it or not she moved her hips a lot when she was explaining, kind of swung them. In all her brainy state. She was a frickin' contradiction. "Man, you're a walking encyclopedia aren't you?"**_

_**Haley frowned with distaste.**_

_**Nathan went on with a bit of laughter. 'Yep, a bonafide nerd."**_

_**She hit at his arm with her elbow.**_

_**Nathan grabbed at it with hurt. "Geesh, back to the hard as rock thing!"**_

_**She pointed now with a firm finger. "Don't make fun of your tutor. Okay, anyway, since you've had so much fun with similes, time to move on to metaphors."**_

_**He groaned.**_

_**Haley ignored it, completely still in teaching mode. "Okay, once again a simile is a comparison of two unlike things using the word like or as. A metaphor makes the same kind of comparison, but without like or as."**_

_**Nathan smirked with fun. 'Like when I said you're a walking encyclopedia?"**_

_**Haley's nose scrunched and her eyes narrowed. **_

_**Nathan burst into laughter.**_

_**She slapped the open book shut. "Oh great, now you think I'm amusing."**_

_**Deep into giggles, that seemed to surprisingly come when he was around her sometimes, Nathan shook his head. "No, come on."**_

_**Haley frowned deeply as he grabbed at her arm and pulled her down the stone ground with him right in front of the shallower part of the river. "Uh…hey…what-Nathan!"**_

_**He laughed again and with a pointing finger reminded. "Go with one sentence Haley. Isn't that what you always tell me? Complete your first sentence before you start your new one."**_

_**"Oh stop!" Haley half yelled before she laughed a little too. "Gosh."**_

_**Feeling a lot more relaxed now, Nathan simply shoved off his shoes. What was it he told her earlier he had to do today? Who cared? He was kind of having fun now. It was a warmer North Carolina morning, especially in Tree Hill, so he bet the water would feel good against his feet.**_

_**"What are you doing?"**_

_**He kicked off his other shoe and pulled away his socks with a shrug. "What does it look like I'm doing? Taking my shoes and socks off. My feet are hot."**_

_**Haley shook her head with disbelief, nervously reading the sign and then rolling her eyes as it seemed he could care less about it. The guy was unbelievable. Whatever he felt like, he just… "You don't even think sometimes, do you? If you want to do it, you just do it."**_

_**Nathan nodded his head with complete affirmation, already enjoying the water against his feet. Yes, Tree Hill's river had very cold water, so it was perfect to just get one part of your body in it, plenty enough to get cooled off on a semi warmer day. Didn't bother him at all that in this particular area of the river, there was a sign stating explicitly that dipping into the water in any way, feet included, was prohibited. "Of course I do. If I want something I get it. That's the way I play my game. That's the way I live. That's just…I feel like doing it…I DO it." **_

_**He said it so strongly, with not a single bit of uncertainty. Haley looked down at the rippling water, whispering something she didn't really admit much. "I wish I could be more like that. Not always, but…well I just never go that far."**_

_**"What do you want?" He asked her it bluntly now.**_

_**Haley frowned. "Nothing. Just for you to leave Lucas alone. I told you that already."**_

_**Nathan waved his hand with dismissal. "Yeah I know. And you know that's not what I meant. You spend so much time looking out for Lucas. What about you, huh? It's not like he is always doing stuff for you, chasing after my girlfriend and all. He'd be pissed if he knew you were helping me, right? Isn't that why you didn't want him to know? So why do you do so much for him?"**_

_**She started to bristle. "Nathan-**_

_**He cut her off, touching at her hand. "Oh forget it, talking about him makes me bored. Are your feet hot?"**_

_**Haley stared at him like he was nuts before she got ready to protest. Nath-**_

_**"Mine were. Are yours?"**_

_**She pushed with her shoe at one of the rocks. "Yeah, sort of."**_

_**"Fine. Take your shoes off."**_

_**She answered back sarcastically. It seemed to come tenfold around him. "And what, play footsie?"**_

_**Nathan grinned, liking it when she forgot about being sensible, smart, and just gave him a one liner. "Whatever turns you on Haley James. He leaned in, "And hey, if you have a foot fetish, I won't tell anyone."**_

_**She rolled her eyes.**_

_**Nathan frowned and grabbed at one of her legs without thinking much what he was doing. Just act, just do, don't think, that was his credence. **_

_**"Hey!"**_

_**He let go, but gestured forward as she complained. "Come on Haley. Just get your feet wet. Don't be scared."**_

_**Haley's mouth widened before she pointed to the sign. "I'm NOT scared. It's just I happen to read signs even if you don't. It's prohibited."**_

_**He shrugged with absolutely no care. "So, honestly I don't even know what that means except what I'm guessing now. It's not allowed, right? Big deal. Take your shoes off."**_

_**She stared at him with bewilderment, looked back at the sign, watched how relaxed he seemed…**_

_**And DID it. Pushed away her shoes and socks and.… **_

_**"Mmm…the water does feel kind of nice." She declared with appreciation. There was something so dangerous about doing this when you weren't supposed to, when you could get caught. But it didn't feel really scary because he was doing it with her too. She wriggled her toes with a risky little smile.**_

_**Nathan watched and grinned. She wasn't as straight and narrow maybe as she showed on the outside. He moved his foot teasingly, until she looked at him darkly. With a chuckle he pulled back and announced. "Ah, see, you're a rebel now. Next thing we know you'll be painting graffiti…oh…excuse me…RUNES on the school walls."**_

_**Haley snickered. "Hah, hah, funny funny."**_

_**Nathan smiled at her this time with sincerity. "You are kind of funny Haley James. Kind of cool too even for a nerdy tutor."**_

_**"Ah!" Haley had more to say, but as she turned to grab his book, she leaned too forward on her arm, lost her sitting balance and nearly…**_

_**"And kind of clumsy!" Nathan yelled out, catching at her arm before she could fall all the way to her side. HEY, at least they were sitting.**_

_**Haley looked up at him, biting down on her bottom lip. He watched it with more interest than he should probably feel.**_

_**Before he pulled on her arm, and she used it to sit back up all the way. "Thanks."**_

_**He shrugged noncommittally, still wondering why she hadn't been only kind of pretty like that, but really appealing. Watching that top lip bite over the bottom one. That had made him kind of…hot. She had a small mouth, but a full one. A shiny…**_

_**"Nathan."**_

_**He turned back to her, answering without even knowing the question. "Yeah, sure."**_

_**Haley grinned. "Perfect, okay so explain to me a metaphor."**_

_**Nathan's eyes sharpened. Oh boy, he missed a lot in the past few minutes, didn't he? "Huh?"**_

_**Once again Haley rolled her eyes.**_

_**Nathan turned away and simply muttered what he felt. "You probably think I'm really dumb. Nothing new since most my teachers think it too. Probably think I'm a lost case. I mean you're really smart so I can guess you're thinking that I'm sort of stu-**_

_**With a shocked frown, Haley pushed her hand against his mouth, before she let go with a slight blush. Her words stayed strong though. "Nathan, you're not dumb or stupid. I don't think that. And I really seriously doubt your teachers think that."**_

_**"My dad does."**_

_**Haley looked at him questioningly. She had only seen his father a few times, but those times had been enough. The man seemed almost impossible to live with. He was just so competitive, manipulative, and had no qualms about showing it. About forcing it on his son. But smart and schoolwork? Dan Scott cared about those kinds of things? "What do you mean?"**_

_**Nathan sighed raggedly before explaining. "Not a lot of people know it, but my dad likes to read. He wasn't a super student in school, but it wasn't because he was dumb. It was because he always had that attitude that he was better than everyone else. That's how he got the dealership, being smart. And when I was a kid and didn't start reading right away like he did…took me a while, he made sure I knew that he would depend on me for the thing I could get. Basketball. Hey, I'm not knocking the game. He always wanted a basketball hero anyway to browbeat, we all know that now. And I doubt I'll ever love school. But it just kind of sucks when your dad thinks you were too dumb to be any good at it anyway."**_

_**Okay, maybe she didn't know him that well, but now she was pretty much ticked off with Dan Scott. Reaching over, Haley touched at Nathan's hand. "Nathan…you're not dumb just because it took you longer to read. That happens to a lot of kids."**_

_**He looked at her sharply. "Probably not you, right?"**_

_**Haley weakly, but honestly shook her head. "No. I started to read practically as soon as I could pick up a book. I was reading books when I was 4, but Nathan that's not the point. Whatever your dad said, or any teacher told you, they're not the one who's going to school. It's you, and that's why I make you work so hard, giving you pop quizzes and telling you to read more. And that's why I want you to understand the parts of poetry and other things that you think really don't matter." She gestured to the book she was holding, his English book. "Because if you learn more of this, you'll learn more about everything." She grinned. "You can become a walking encyclopedia like me."**_

_**Nathan knew what she was trying to do. It seemed to work now as he smiled. "That's okay. I'm not that much a nerd."**_

_**Haley frowned at him.**_

_**Nathan laughed. She somehow had made him feel better, maybe even smarter.**_

_**She squeezed at his hand. "Just don't make that your excuse. Okay? Because the only person you're going to hurt is yourself, Nathan. And I don't believe it. Not for one second. You're very smart. And the more you work at it, the better student you're going to be. Maybe not an A or B student, but hey, okay, it's just not your thing. You'll be a better one though. The best one you can be. And that's what matters."**_

_**Nathan smirked. 'Now you sound like Oprah."**_

_**Haley rolled her eyes and lightly hit him on the head with his English book.**_

_**He protested. "Hey!"**_

_**Haley brought the book back down. "Oh stop. I barely touched you. Okay, once again Nathan, a metaphor."**_

_**He shuffled his feet in the water and looked around. Before he smiled.**_

_**"I got it…"**_

She woke out of the dream. When she looked down, a familiar arm was wrapped around her breast. Haley smiled at it and lowered her lips to the tanned skin. _"Mmm…Nathan…"_

He said nothing, still asleep. Looking back to catch his face, she noticed how his lips were partly curved in the upward direction, with a content smile. It matched hers. Still she gently disengaged his arm and slipped away from the bed. Noticing her partial state of undress, she was wearing one of his long T shirts and nothing else, she moved to the closet…

**~{~}~**

He was having a dream. They were kids with no real thoughts other than stupid crush beginnings. It didn't matter though. It was a whole new world beyond normal that somehow excited him…

_**She was working late this night at the café. A couple of hours earlier he got off practice. He was thinking about her a lot more now even if he tried to deny it outwardly. Peyton was pretty much broken up with him. Lucas knew now that they were spending time together and that she was tutoring him. His dad still wanted him to be the best and riled him when he was anything less. His grades were starting to improve.**_

_**And…**_

_**He opened the door and walked in.**_

_**She called out with her back turned, wiping at the counter. 'Uh, hey, we're closed."**_

_**"Even for me?" He asked with ultra arrogance.**_

_**She whipped around so quickly that the spin made her body nearly go down. It would have if he hadn't jumped forward and held at her arm.**_

_**"Damn Haley! Klutz move!" He ended the remark with a sharp smile that told her he was playing with her. He liked how she would look at him when he did. She got all these crazy kinds of expressions on her face sometimes that were cool to catch.**_

_**She frowned at him and his teasing, before she noticed his hand still holding tightly onto her arm. She didn't try to push it off, just asked quietly. "What are you doing here?"**_

_**Nathan shrugged with little emphasis. "Practice got done a while ago and I remembered you said at tutoring you were working late and didn't have a ride. I don't really have one either, but I thought we could walk together. You know?"**_

_**She stared before a gentle smile filled her face. "That's nice. Thank you."**_

_**He liked how she just accepted it so quickly and easily. She was just his tutor and yet they spent a lot of time together now. He actually looked forward to the sessions and as he just showed, he listened when she told him things.**_

_**Haley turned back around and realized she needed something on the high shelf. Looking around for it, she grabbed the step ladder and pushed it forward. She stepped up the highest part of it and still couldn't reach. Grimacing at her height impediment for the moment, she reached higher on her tippy toes. And then felt it. She looked down with surprise.**_

_**"Natha-**_

_**He cut her off, standing on the second step with his hands still wrapped around her narrow waist, and pushing at the half apron she was wearing. "What do you need? I'll get it."**_

_**Haley half bristled. "I can get it. I'm not an invalid. It's just kind of high." She started stretching again and then squealed as he grabbed her tighter around her waist. "Natha-**_

_**He didn't let her finish again, and he didn't let go, bringing her all the way down to the same step he was standing on. Haley grasped onto his shoulders to keep her balance. As he brought her down, her body brushed against his. He stilled at it for a moment before looking down into her big brown eyes. She wouldn't admit it much herself, but Haley James was not just hot. She was pretty, REALLY pretty. And it didn't take a lot of makeup to make her that way. She wore hardly any and she didn't' do anything wild with her hair. She just had this natural…well beauty…that he sometimes felt a little…lost in.**_

_**Her hands still on his shoulders, she looked up into his strong blue eyes and nearly had to look away. Sometimes they had an intensity in them that just baffled her. He complained in his weaker moments, which didn't come often, but he admitted with her, that he wasn't that smart. She begged to differ when his eyes were as watching as they were now. There was incredible intelligence in them. And that was…really…sexy. Even if she wasn't yet ready to admit that to him out loud. Okay, so she was starting to get a real lame crush on Nathan Scott. She probably shouldn't because he sort of still had a girlfriend and yet they were broken up, right? And they would stay that way and…**_

_**Oh this was crazy. She was nuts to ever start tutoring him at the dock those first couple of times, later at his house and the tutoring center also. To like him when he and her best friend were always at each other. To think this way. That he might…**_

_**"Haley…" He whispered now, pinching at her waist lightly, seeing her eyes in some kind of wondering daze. He wanted to get back with Peyton. That was the plan. Basketball, Peyton, beating his dad, beating Lucas, all the plan.**_

_**So why the heck was it starting to get so boring and played out? Why would he rather focus on this pretty natural girl right now?**_

_**Her fingers moved up and down his arms really slowly. She wasn't controlling it at all. She swore somewhere deep down that didn't really connect with her brain at all. She…**_

_**She was falling! Off the step ladder. Clumsy Haley. Clumsy HOT Haley. Nathan caught at her waist and brought her down all the way to the floor again with him. He watched as she pushed away before smiling weirdly.**_

_**A part of her wanted to grab his hand and go back on the stepladder in that small tight together space. The other, the sensible one, landed a punch to her brain and told it to wake up. Haley shook her head with dazed realization, finally vacating the dream. She laughed with nervousness. "Oh gosh, that was awkward. You know, how I almost fell after you got on the step ladder too. Because I was on it first and then I had to reach really high and you came up with m-**_

_**He smiled at her rambling and cut it off softly, touching at her cheek. "What did you want to get? I'll bring it down for you."**_

_**Haley stared at him. What DID she want to get? Oh wait, that was right. "Uh, a jar. For uh…the peanuts here on the counter. I…was going to put them in there."**_

_**"Okay." He said quietly and moved up to get it for her.**_

_**Haley watched the long line of his strong body before she moved to the back room. Needed to put the sugar away. Needed a breather.**_

_**With everything closed they walked together up the street away from the café, towards the river's bridge. Nathan turned to see how the autumn wind was blowing at her cinnamon brown hair. It was something nice to watch. "So did-**_

_**"How was-**_

_**Both stopped with amused looks before she gestured. "You first."**_

_**They moved past the bridge as he shook his head. "No, you."**_

_**Haley shrugged and kept walking.**_

_**Nathan noticed they were coming to a crossing light and she didn't seem to be stopping. He grabbed at her arm, pulling her back a bit. "Hey…"**_

_**Haley noticed now the crossing light completely red, and gave him a sheepish look. Clumsy was one thing, but not even noticing a crossing light now Haley? Geesh. How was it that sometimes when she was with him all sense seemed to fly out the window? And she depended on him to…**_

_**Okay, her question. Before he thinks you're nuts Haley. "How was practice?"**_

_**The light turned green and they crossed. "It was alright. We're kind of working more as a team at least. Lucas and I aren't getting on each other nerves as much as before, you know, that Pickerington Hick game. Whitey's still yelling though of course." He thought of how his dad would be having his big basketball thing in a week or so. It would probably be a crappy suck-fest like usual. He wasn't really looking forward to it, though maybe it would be not as sucky if Haley came. No way though. She would hate that type of thing most likely.**_

_**They crossed again now into the residential area of where she lived. It was just another street down to her house. Even in her denim jacket she shivered as a cold wind blew, that came from the nearby water and the evening's coolness. Nathan noticed it and put his hand on her shoulder. "You cold?"**_

_**Haley shook her head, before feeling another one pull at her. Nathan felt it now too as without thinking he wrapped his arm tighter around her, whispering. "Kind of windy tonight."**_

_**Haley smiled up at him, noticing that strength back in his eyes. That watching perceptive…**_

_**"Yeah." She whispered, liking how he didn't make it into some big play. He just naturally put his arm around her and held with a bit of distance, but keeping her kind of close too. Just…like it was easy to do. Like he wanted to do it. Like he…**_

_**"My tutor is way off in another world it seems."**_

_**She turned up to him and smiled softly before staying quiet.**_

_**Nathan looked up at the moon as they were only a few houses to hers now. It was kind of strongly full this night. "The moon in the sky was white as a ghost."**_

_**He winked down at her. **_

_**Haley responded with surprise and happiness. "A simile…I'm impressed."**_

_**He grinned and told her to fill in one. "But a metaphor…hey…make a metaphor about me like I made one about you on our second tutoring session."**_

_**She stared at him for a moment. "You remember that it was the second one, you remember the order?"**_

_**He shrugged before he filled in certainly. "Of course I do."**_

_**Haley wondered at the contradiction. It was Nathan Scott it seemed. Sometimes he was so casual about things, and other times his plainness in stating what to him seemed obvious was just so…**_

_**"Nathan is a bobcat on the court, racing across it with ease and ferocious agility."**_

_**They were two houses away. So close. Too close. He smiled down at her with wonder. The moon was shinning down on her face in the perfect way it seemed. Just right. "Cool. Bobcat, you know like the Charlotte Bobcats."**_

_**She didn't seem to get it. He laughed, knowing she wasn't as deeply into basketball as him. "Anyway, it was really cool. And you're good at them, metaphors..."**_

_**She shook her head as finally they were right in front of her house. Finally, or disappointedly? "No, I just read a lot. You're getting really good too…you know…at similes."**_

_**He bent down slightly and moved some of her hair away from her cheek gently. Then he just smiled, not wanting to say anything. Not caring if she wanted to remain quiet too. Talking was overrated anyway sometimes. Especially with her.**_

_**Haley knew it in that moment, with a rising fury of fear. Maybe too intense, but it was there. She REALLY liked Nathan Scott. She wanted him to like her. It was crazy. Lucas would think she was insane, but, after all these tutoring sessions, after this walk home, after…**_

_**It all, she LIKED him. Nothing felt right about this and everything felt right. She was more confused than ever and yet…**_

_**"Haley James is a shooting star, bright, smart, and always moving away from…"**_

_**He let it hang there. She stared up into his strong eyes before she felt his arm lift off her shoulder. **_

_**"We're at your house." He told her softly. **_

_**Haley looked up and noticed it…again. She laughed softly before she felt something ultra surprising.**_

_**Nathan brought her in against him delicately. He touched at her hair and held at her back. "Good night."**_

_**Haley whispered it back to him, feeling the hug stop almost as soon as it started. He pulled away so fast. And he pulled her in so tight. She smiled to return his, noticing now how, though there was certain seriousness to it, a livening in his eyes. "Good night Nathan."**_

_**He watched her go in before he walked away. Looking up at the moon…**_

_**The stars…**_

_**Like a silly dream.**_

He opened his eyes and woke, widened the expanse of his hands, but _she_ was not there. He was alone. Nathan sat up quickly. Called out softy. "Haley?" Nothing. Frowning, he moved to the dresser. He had to get more on than just his shorts…

**~{~}~**

She smiled now up at the sky. For the first time in a long time she felt so much more ease. So much quiet. It wasn't perfect and this wasn't all over, but they were dealing with it and they would continue to. It was going to be okay. She flexed her toes into the …

_"What the heck are you doing?"_

She smiled quietly without looking back. "Getting my feet wet. They were hot." She finally turned around, grinned, and saw him return it with an amused smile. She gestured with playfulness. "Come here…"

Nathan walked over the grass to the rockier part of where the river/creek near their house started. Feeling her eyes come up to him, he bent down to sit next to her. He had woken alone after…_being_ with her earlier. Unhappy with that first state, he searched the house and then made his way to their yard, finally spotting her right in this _spot_.

Haley brought her hands over his legs and moved them over hers a bit. Reaching down, she pushed away his slippers and waved her hand forward.

Smiling, Nathan moved his feet down into the water too, joining with hers. "So what we going to do now, _play Footsie?_"

Haley lifted her hand against her chin teasingly. _"Whatever turns you on Mr. Scott."_

He laughed and grabbed at her side with possessive love. _"Come here….mmmmm…"_

She snuggled against his chest, feeling his arms wrap around her. "I dreamed about that day tonight. I just had it like a while ago. That's why I came out here. I felt like getting my feet wet and so I did, but I wanted fresh water, not pool water. I just did what I wanted to do. Like you told me that day you always did. _Whatever you wanted_."

Nathan chuckled softly, moving his mouth over her forehead. "Oh man Hales. That was a long time ago. _Wow._ Like a lifetime ago. We were really that young, huh?"

Haley turned to him now, tugging at his T shirt with her fingers. "it wasn't that long ago! You make us sound ancient."

He smiled, feeling her lips move up to his with a fast teasing kiss. He laughed again before pushing at her hair with his face. He loved just being near her, feeling her, all around him and in front of him and…just to be by her side. It didn't matter if they just held hands, or touched each other's arm, or grabbed each other for a full kiss. It just…it always felt so good to be with her. To love her and have her love him. To just…

Spend his life with her. Over seven years now. Unbelievably not normal. _Unbelievably right._

He answered her back. "I know we're not. But I'm not like that so much anymore. I was kind of dumb then thinking I could have everything I wanted. I mean with the temporary paralysis and everything, Haley, it didn't end up that way. But it's okay because, like I told you earlier, I got my dream anyway. I got her right now in my arms."

She felt a few tears like she had earlier, before she pushed at his chest and declared. "You nerd."

Nathan laughed, before pinching at her ass.

"Ah!"

He continued strongly. "_Hey_, the nerd thing was already established. You were that. I was cool. Man, I was so hot on the court you had to tutor me."

Haley frowned, with her scrunched up nose and narrowed eyes.

Nathan laughed like he had that day, but this time, like he couldn't then, or maybe didn't even dare try then, this time he could add in… "_Mmm…I like it a lot better now that I get to kiss you._" He moved in for more, only feeling light protest from her before she kissed him back. "You were the hottest nerd I ever wanted. _The only one_."

Haley smiled now softly before lowering her head against his chest, holding him there. "When I was in jail, there was a woman there who said her husband cheated. I felt bad for her, not having a husband like I have. I _didn't_ doubt you Nathan. Just, sometimes the dream can be scary, because it feels too much like a real one. And if it was a real one that would mean I'd wake up and it would no longer be…_true_. Plus, the more important thing, Nathan, I don't want you to be in that dark place again like you…"

She let the meaning hang. He knew it well though. He lived through it and put her and Jamie through it. And he vowed then, and he would definitely vow now, he would never put his family through anything like that again. He would never reach that rock bottom again.

He moved his hand down to her chin to get her to face him. "Haley, it's _never_ going to be like that again. No matter what happens with my career and The Bobcats now. I won't let that happen. And us, we are a _real_ dream Haley. You've always been mine. We're the real thing Haley, awake or not. It's not going to end. I know this has been hard and I've just been trying to give you some distance too, because you didn't seem to want to be around me that much lately. _And I get that._ Haley, I just want you to always believe in me, because when you don't, the dream falls apart. You were it Haley. And you're it now. And I'm never letting you go. Just I hope you don't let me go.

She felt their feet come together in the water, as their legs semi tangled. It felt so good to be sitting with your husband. To practically be in his lap supported and warm. "_Never, Nathan_. I will never let you go. Just going to jail, having it on TV all the time, I'm so angry she's doing this Nathan. I want everything for you and for us and I just…I need to feel from you like I did when we were together…in our bedroom tonight. I don't want to sound weak, but that makes me stronger in all this."

He gently pressed his mouth against hers to stop her for the moment. "_I know_. I get you being angry because I am too. It feels sometimes like my hands are tied in all this and all I can do is wait for it to play out. I hate that you had to go to jail and that it's upsetting you." He went on vulnerably. "And I just got scared when I thought you might have stopped believing in me."

Haley gently kissed his lips, before she brushed them against his cheek. "Nathan, I believe you. _In you_. Everything."

He smiled at that with thankfulness before their feet played around some more in the water. He smirked at her. "I was right that day. You _do_ have a foot fetish."

Haley moved up further on his lap, daringly challenging. "I have a chest one too."

His eyebrows came up with amusement. _"Oh really?"_

Her fingers clawed up his chest under his shirt. _"Oh yes."_

_Some people talked things so much that it rounded out back to the serious. Not them. They talked out however much needed to be said before taking it to teasing and fun affection. If that didn't happen, it meant things were deeper. It meant it might take longer to resolve. Now though they had talked, argued, and this night in their bedroom whispered with affection…and loved. Before they rounded back to their full turning cycles of life. Their dream together. Sure it wasn't perfect, and they ticked each other off before they turned each other on. But hey, it was over seven years now that they had done this. More than seven years of marriage, one amazing precocious son, and they were still fighting for it…loving it._

_Crazily dreaming about each other._

_And with._

_And to think it all started with a couple of similes and metaphors…_

_Well among other always and forever nothing else matters…things._

_No hyperbole intended._

"Well I have an _ass_ one." He pinched with fun meaning.

_"Nathan!"_

He smirked with amusement as she pushed hard at his chest and they both tumbled down to the ground together. Each giggled like little kids as their bodies hit hard and even their water-filled feet flew up some.

He complained soon though as his back grumbled at him. _Geesh_, it wasn't like he was in high school anymore. 'Oh man you're like an attack dog!"

"Very good…_a simile_!" Haley congratulated before she _'attacked'_ him with her lips. "_Mmmm_…" She framed his face with her hands, whispering downward and gazing down appreciatively at that hard edged body for a moment, even apparent under his T shirt and sweats. _"You really are just too sexy for your own good."_

He smirked, with meaning, taking in her short robe falling just a bit on one shoulder to reveal one of her flirty tanks she liked to wear to sleep. _"And yours."_

She started to shake her head, but he held on and brought her lips back down to his. He playfully spanked her ass, getting her to yelp. But before she could get much more out, he hungrily brought his mouth up to hers for long lengthy fun wetness. _"Ah, now that was good."_

Haley forgot her temporary protest at his mal- treatment of her lower backside and snuggled up against him in the grassy, lower rocky, even lower wet river/creek area.. _"Mmmm…agreed."_

Wrapping his arms solidly around her back, feeling her hands surrounding his chest, he kissed her forehead and sighed with peaceful relief. Haley looked down to where their feet still swam freely in the water. Curling her fingers around the middle of his shirt, she went back to his earlier subject. A point she thought that needed to be made. "Nathan I know you're not exactly as you were then, when we were in high school. I'm not either. We're getting older Nathan."

_"Ah…"_ He groaned, not liking the older age sentimental talk, even if from their first days they were a cheesy couple. Case in point, their attempt to make an answering machine message, _okay?. Cheese to the max._

She laughed at it and smiled before going on affectionately with meaning. "We're getting _wiser_ too, okay? It's sad, but we both know this isn't the first time someone's tried to come between us, or to hurt our family. And look at our feet Nathan-

He cut through now with forehead furrowed. "_Uh_, Hales, there is going to be a point to this, right?"

She rolled her eyes. 'Yes!"

"_Okay._ Just checking. If you're trying to figure out where you were with the rambling, um, it was back to the foot fetish."

She frowned. "_Hah_…funny."

_I_ thought it was."

"ANY-way. As I was saying, look at our feet."

He frowned with confusion, but did as ordered. You learned after over seven years of marriage. Wife was always right. End of it. Even when she was rambling with seemingly no real point except to compare fetishes…_hah…might be fun_. He had some _more_ he could think of.

"Nathan, are you listening to me at all?"

Seeing her eyes burrowed down hard on his, he nodded his head with full well intentioned deception. "Yep."

She scrutinized him sharply, _liar_, but went on. "Okay, as I was saying, look at our feet. Oh my gosh, where _was_ I going with this?"

He laughed now fully, grabbing at her back and bringing her lips straight down to his. "Have no frickin' idea…_ahhh…that's better_."

Haley allowed his kiss, _hee_, even participating in it for a bit before she…"_Oh_…I got it! I remember it now! _Oh yes!_"

He grinned with husbandly dirty intention. "Scream a little more Haley. _Moan_ some too."

"Nathan!" She frowned down at him before touching at his cheeks. "I'm serious…listen okay. We'll be silly and…sort of wild… later. _I need you to hear this_."

He smiled softly, caressing her cheek softly with his fingers. "_Okay Baby_. Go ahead."

"You told me that day Nathan that you put your feet in the water because you wanted to. You said if you wanted it, you got it. You did it."

Nathan frowned. "Yeah, and that was reckless."

Haley shook her head. "_No_, Nathan. You _still_ do that. Everyday. And it's not reckless. Because now you just opened it up to be about Jamie and me, and us, our family. Nathan I want you to still do that. I want you to _always_ do that. When you said that…that day, you changed something in me too. Or maybe you just helped bring it out. I always wanted to take more chances, secretly I wanted to do things I never tried before, but I didn't start doing them until you. I finally felt free enough. Nathan, this whole thing with Renee, we are _free_ together to do what we want. We can get through this together. And we can still…_put our feet in the water_."

Nathan smiled now with beginning understanding. "You're hitting a whole new metaphor aren't you Haley?"

She smiled back. 'Yes. A big one. _Ours_ that we should never forget. I feel like we've shut down lately and let this take control and now…"

Nathan smiled with firmness. "Now _we_ control it. Now we do what we want…together. No matter what anyone else thinks about it, because the only people it's going to hurt to not deal with this is…us…the three of us. So we do what is right…_for us_."

Haley reached, ran her fingers up his chin and kissed his lips. "Exactly. It doesn't mean it will be easy, but with both our feet in the water…"

"_We're doubly strong_." He kissed the tip of her nose, tangled his fingers with luxury feel through her soft thick hair. It warmed and thrilled him. "So, you never told me, how did your dream end?"

Their feet tickled and teased in the water. She lifted herself back fully into his lap, feeling him holding her securely. _With want and desire._ "It was when you finally figured out what a metaphor was, and told me it."

He brought his hand down over the leg of her pajama pants, half covered by the robe she was wearing. "I remember that. I was kind of scared you were going to think I was dumb."

Haley shook her head with affection. "You weren't then and you aren't now. And…you're also not Dan Scott. You never were _and you never will be_."

Nathan faced her with gratitude. Most sons probably did want to be like their father. Maybe one time he had wanted that. But not after all the stupid mistakes and cruel decisions the man made. Nathan hoped he was a good role model for his son, but his dad had failed at the job, and that was why he had broken away. That and her. _"Thanks."_

"Yeah…so you remember what the metaphor was?"

Feeling her lips start to tease against his cheek, Nathan smiled as down below a lot of _footsie-play_ going on. "Oh yeah. It made you blush, before you hit my arm."

Haley rolled her eyes at him with annoyance.

He laughed and kissed her lips before whispering, _"Haley James is a klutz, but she's a kind of hot one."_

Haley shook her head at him like she had that day. "It definitely was a _unique_ metaphor."

He smirked now. She pressed against him. "Okay, what is that about?"

Nathan answered softly. _"I had a dream too."_

She looked up with interest, caressing his cheek with her hand. "Oh really, what about?"

He smiled and told his story. "Remember right before my dad's big thing? That night you got upset with me? Remember before that? You were working late at the café and I came to meet you after practice."

Haley slightly blushed with remembrance before her eyes danced with spark of feeling. "Oh yeah, you walked me home. You even told me that metaphor and yet you left it hanging."

He nodded his head with a smile. "And you made that one about me being a bobcat. Talk about prophetic."

She tickled her fingers into his dark raven thick hair. "Well, even then you moved on the court like one. It was exciting to watch you…just like it is now! You're so alive, so much like a wild animal with that ball, a muscled…_sexy one_!" She kissed his lips and then brought in. "So, what was it really about, your metaphor that night Nathan?"

He kissed softly at her lips too. "That I wanted to do something like that. And yet you seemed so far out of reach. So…like a star that I would have to run faster than I ever had to… _to catch_. But I wasn't going to give up. You know me, _I want something, I get it_. I do what it takes. _Even if it meant getting the smartest girl in school to like me too_."

Haley blushed now. He watched it with gentle affection. "I remember that night you got cold. It was kind of windy. It made me secretly glad because it meant I could put my arm around you."

Haley pushed back at his chest now, looking deep down into his eyes. "You _wanted_ that?"

Nathan nodded his head quickly now. "_Yeah!_ Haley, I already was crushing out on you then."

She frowned. "But didn't you want to get back with Peyton?"

He shook his head resolutely. "I wanted to have everything planned out. _That_ was what I wanted. I just wanted everything back to normal because I was scared of…_not_ being normal _with you_. But after that first kiss, there was no going back Haley. _Ever_. Even if you made me say a metaphor simile thing a day, I knew I wasn't going to let you go. Not after I finally caught you."

She smiled with wonder and touched at his chest. "You know what was weird. I felt like in my dream I was reading your thoughts about me then, and everything."

He smiled and kissed her nose, before returning to her full shining lips. "I felt like I was reading yours. Maybe that's why it was a dream. We got to finally see what the other was thinking."

Haley touched at his hair, whispering against his face. _"But it's real, right Nathan?"_

_"Definitely."_ He whispered back, before kissing her more. They came out of it with half sighs, half giggles. Played under the water with their feet. Tickling and rubbing.

He held her against his chest. She smiled with ease. Peaceful soft ease of such a lovely un-perfect night. More than seven years and she'd never go back.

Neither would he.

"I have a new one."

_"What?"_ She whispered passionately against his cheek.

"Metaphor. A new one about us. Haley and Nathan are a star, a light never going out."

"You're a lot better."

He laughed, teasing. "My tutor made sure of it."

She filled in. "And they're like a dream, a never waking one." She thought of what she had just said. "But I mean they're real, not waking but see real and true and-

He laughed at her rambling and cut it off. _"Point taken Mrs. Nerd Tutor Scott."_

_"Shut up."_

He smirked with meaning. Talk was good. Talk was overrated. Talk was _so_ unnecessary right now. _"Okay."_

_So they weren't perfect at metaphors and similes. And they used up hyperbole until it was over-exhausted. But they lived in one. A metaphor. They engaged in them. Similes. They were one, a hyperbole of love that fought on through all the storms and fires._

_Call that exaggeration. Say they were cheesy. It didn't matter now. As their toes curled over each other's in the water. As together they lowered down to the bank for kisses, and whispers of affection, before they would return to their bedroom, fall asleep in each others' arms, and dare dream._

_The word love didn't even need to be used in dialogue. It was metaphorically there._

_Forever. _

_Always._

_Hyperbole._

_Metaphor_

_Simile_

_They were a poetic dream._

_Of reality._

_The End._

Thank you for reading. Feedback is adored.

The flashback dreams were of course made up by me, but maybe that was some of what was happening with NH back then.


End file.
